Join Detective NJ and Detective Bean track and attempt to capture the notorious criminal Miss Nita Direction before she steals all 50 of the United States!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Gettin' Gooey in Missouri

How did it get to be Wednesday already? And the 3rd of December! Noah told me on the way to the bus that it's 3 weeks 'til Christmas Eve. AH! Actually, I'm cool with that. I'm feeling really good about the Christmas thing and am totally enjoying the season. Thanks again to my fam for giving Grant and I a shopping day last week, it really helped. I got to spend some time in Noah's class this morning, reading with the kiddos again. Was there Monday as well and have really been enjoying watching some of the kiddos progress. Plus, I love that I know pretty much all the kids by name now and they all all me "Noah's Mom" No matter where and when they see me it "Hi, Noah's Mom!" I find this oddly endearing and delightful for . some reason.The Bean and I ran a few quick errands after I picked her up - gotta get ready for cookie baking on Friday! Then it was home for some lunch and she and I finished work on two presents we had been making. We even got them wrapped (along with the items she picked out yesterday. Still chuckling about what she got for Grant...) and it was a good thing she was there to help me out, wrapping presents is so not my forte. But with the Bean they all managed to get wrapped AND have bows - nothing half way with Mikayla for sure.We grabbed NJ from the bus and the kids worked on the "We've Been There" state. Grant and I earned stickers this week. As he told the kiddos the other night, Grant has actually been to the top of the Arch! I didn't make it into the Arch but did check out the Museum of Westward Expansion and the grounds around the Arch in college. It's even possible that I sampled Imo's pizza... When I started looking up recipes, the two I picked for today kept coming up again and again. I wanted something fairly easy tonight, so pizza it was! I know all about Chicago pizza and New York Pizza, but did you know St. Louis has its own pizza as well? I picked this recipe for St. Louis Style Pizza tonight and I'm kind of digging it It's a SUPER thin crust topped with provel cheese (a low melting-point, processed cheese that’s a combination of smoked Provolone, cheddar, and Swiss) and then cut into squares. Apparently, Imo's is THE place in St. Louis to get the best St. Louis style pizza. (Did find an Imo's Copycat recipe as well if you're interested!) My take - I'm a fan of thin crust pizza so this was up my alley. Plus the dough came together really easily, didn't have to rise and was easy to work with - WIN!For quite some time now, the Janoch's have been telling us all about Gooey Butter Cake from Missouri. Tess had even said they would order cakes from THE place in St. Louis to get the treat from (which they did and we'll be enjoying later in the week, but more on that when it happens). But I decided I wanted to know more about this famous cake, its origins and try my hand at it as well. If, like me, you've never heard of a Gooey Butter Cake, I've learned that it is a St. Louis specialty, usually served as a coffee cake not a dessert cake. There are multiple claims to the invention of the cake by the Danzer family and the Koppe family What they both agree on is that it was by accident! The overall story is (according to wikipedia) "The cake was supposedly first made by accident in the 1930s by a St. Louis-area German American baker who was trying to make regular cake batter but reversed the proportions of sugar and flour." I decided to try my hand at it for dessert tonight, and the result is that my crew doesn't care what it's called or where it came from, they loved it! I've had multiple requests to make it breakfast in the morning and they are excited about comparing it to 'the real deal' in a few days.I had to hightail it out after dinner for a Cub Scout Leadership meeting while Grant and the kiddos ruled the roost here. This week has been hectic already and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Come to think of it, the rest of the year pretty much looks that way. They are both off for two whole weeks at Christmas, though, and I'm really looking forward to that second week where we have no plans, no where to go, no where to be and can spend some time together as a family. Maybe I can even con Grant into taking a day or two off :p MOPS tomorrow! And if toasted ravioli, gooey butter cakes and specialty pizza all weren't enough, Missouri is also the home of cashew chicken, which is on tomorrow night's menu. I'm also looking forward to seeing waht the kiddos color on their maps tomorrow (Kayla can't get over the ice cream cone thing...), so until then....Missouri Fun Fact of the Day: Kansas City has more miles of boulevards than Paris and more fountains than any city except Rome.

Gooey Butter Cake

OMG - Okay, so here's how my family felt about this one. I told Grant that I was taking what was left with me to MOPS in the morning. He threatened to call in a bomb threat to the Church before the meeting so we couldn't meet and no one would be able to eat the cake.

My littlest elft

Grant and I have been there!

ALMOST DONE!

They got a letter from Santa

He told them they needed to work on their behavior...

St. Louis Style Pizza. Grant's new favorite. Ever. He compared it to my perogi. If you had any idea how much Grant LOVES my perogi you would know that between this and the cake tonight I'm chalking myself up to Domestic Goddess today.

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WANTED!

Last Known Whereabouts: Lurking around Farmington Hills, Michigan, keeping an eye on her newly appointed trackers, Noah and Mikayla Gatchel

Feared Future Plans: Stealing each of the 50 U.S. states to put them under the direction of BAD

About Nita

Prior to her escape, MOMG had heard rumors of Nita’s plans to attempt to steal all fifty of the United States. Intelligence shows that Direction has long been planning her thieving scheme.

Direction is well known for her burglary and theft skills. She is a master of blending into her surroundings and familiarizing herself with her terrain and becoming a ‘local’. She is devoted to researching her target before striking and is known for her patience. She is not thought to be dangerous, simply sneaky. Citizens are asked not to attempt to make contact with Nita if spotted, she spooks easily and could be lost.

Burglars and Delinquents (BAD)

Nita is the boss of the crime syndicate BAD. The detectives should expect BAD to assist Nita in her plans.

Ministry of Modern Goodness (MOMG)

The Ministry is tasked with protecting all 50 of the United States. They are enlisting the help of the Gatchel Detectives to capture Miss Direction